Blog Watch: NYT Turns Carpetbagger into Year-Round Movie Blog

The New York Times has finally figured out that it's dumb to shut down their movie blog, The Carpetbagger, which has been pegged to media columnist David Carr writing in the guise of amateur Oscar-watcher The Bagger. In past years, when Carr quit the seasonal gig, the blog went dark, which I always thought was a crime. Especially in this competitive age, blog traffic is hard-won and foolish to lose. For the moment, this impersonal NYT staff blog has replaced Carr, who lent a marvelous pulse to The Carpetbagger. Most people want to find a personality, a reason to check out a blog. Aggregation might hold the space for a while. But the numbers will, inevitably, dip.

The New York Times has finally figured out that it's dumb to shut down their movie blog, The Carpetbagger, which has been pegged to media columnist David Carr writing in the guise of amateur Oscar-watcher The Bagger. In past years, when Carr quit the seasonal gig, the blog went dark, which I always thought was a crime. Especially in this competitive age, blog traffic is hard-won and foolish to lose. For the moment, this impersonal NYT staff blog has replaced Carr, who lent a marvelous pulse to The Carpetbagger. Most people want to find a personality, a reason to check out a blog. Aggregation might hold the space for a while. But the numbers will, inevitably, dip.

Here's the NYT's explanation for what they are doing:

As you may have noticed, The Carpetbagger ‚Äì which began life as a seasonal blog during the annual movie awards season ‚Äì did not go dormant after the recent Academy Awards, as it has in previous years. Instead, The Bagger has become a year-round blog, focusing on Hollywood and the entertainment industry, a place where you can come for regular doses of news about movies, the people who make them and the business of getting it all done.

There are other changes, as well. While Carpetbagger began as a blog hosted by David Carr ‚Äì a New York Times reporter and media columnist who assumed the Bagger persona during awards season ‚Äì the year-round Bagger will be fed by the entire entertainment and media corps of The Times, particularly the paper‚Äôs chief Hollywood correspondents, Michael Cieply and Brooks Barnes. David will continue to appear from time to time, as will others from The Times.

And the Bagger will continue to kick into highest gear during awards season ‚Äì but now it also will be a place to come every day of the year to learn about what‚Äôs happening with the movies. As always, we are grateful for any tips to carpetbagger@nytimes.com.

There are other changes, as well. While Carpetbagger began as a blog hosted by David Carr ‚Äì a New York Times reporter and media columnist who assumed the Bagger persona during awards season ‚Äì the year-round Bagger will be fed by the entire entertainment and media corps of The Times, particularly the paper‚Äôs chief Hollywood correspondents, Michael Cieply and Brooks Barnes. David will continue to appear from time to time, as will others from The Times.

And the Bagger will continue to kick into highest gear during awards season ‚Äì but now it also will be a place to come every day of the year to learn about what‚Äôs happening with the movies. As always, we are grateful for any tips to carpetbagger@nytimes.com.